Opinion: Montgomery County Regulations Stifle Nightlife

In a piece for Greater Greater Washington, Weston Henry describes how Montgomery County’s business regulations are stifling the development of nightlife in the county.

According to Henry, the Nighttime Economy Task Force, formed in 2013, published a series of recommendations to revitalize the county and bring more residents and businesses to the area. “And yet, here we are eleven years later, with no dance clubs, few late-night spots, and little evidence to suggest that the perception of the county as a social desert for singles has changed.”

Henry blames this on the Board of License Commissioners, which “is solely responsible for creating the county’s alcohol rules and regulations, and have created a series of regulations seemingly designed with the sole intention of preventing any venue catering to young, single, or recently transplanted people to open in the county.” Henry notes that restrictions on restaurants and bars such as requiring that 40 percent of income be earned through food sales, prohibiting dancing in venues without a special license, and requiring a full menu of food are preventing businesses from operating successfully. While the task force recommended a new social venue license, it was never created.

While some local officials say the younger work force will move back to the county after they have kids, this belief, Henry writes, “is a terrible economic strategy. It contributes to our massive labor shortage, which forces employers to eliminate positions, as the county itself did last year, or move to where they can find people to fill these positions.”